Dialogue on Dementia: Can new genetic insights help us find better prevention and treatments for dementia?

Gladys E. Maestre, Ph.D., M.D., M.Phil., is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Neuroscience, and Department of Human Genetics at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. Her research projects focus on gene-environment interactions affecting cognition, particularly related to aging. Dr. Maestre, a native of Venezuela, leads the Maracaibo Aging Study and coordinates diverse activities related to capacity building for brain research in Venezuela and the Caribbean region.

Chloe Sarnowski, Ph.D., is in the Department of Biostatistics at Boston University. Dr. Sarnowski’s research focuses on genomics bioinformatics and computational biology, and next-generation genetic and DNA sequencing analysis.

Sudha Seshadri, M.D., is founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s & Neurodegenerative Diseases and is a professor in the Department of Neurology at the Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, UT Health San Antonio. Dr. Seshadri is a senior investigator for the seminal Framingham Heart Study, has had peer-reviewed research continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 10 years, and currently serves as the principal investigator on eight NIH research grants.

She has lectured extensively nationally and internationally on Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and the genetics of stroke and vascular brain injury. Dr. Seshadri is a recognized thought leader in Alzheimer’s disease, having recently co-authored position papers disseminated by the National Academy of Sciences on ”Preventing Cognitive Decline and Dementia: A Way Forward,” and by the American Heart Association with a paper titled ”Defining Optimal Brain Health in Adults.”